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Tips for Nidalee

Before Nidalee I played Janna for a while. Obviously I was mainly support and was not used to being aggressive. My boyfriend was playing Udyr so I was mainly supporting him. It helped him out alot and Janna's ability to harass was amazing for Udyr.

I wanted to start playing an aggressive champ. My boyfriend recommended Nidalee, so I bought her. I'm really enjoying her but I have a problem with being aggressive. I read to never be in cougar forum in the middle of a big fight, so I try not to but I feel like I'm not contributing to the fight.

Well, I'm assuming your a girl, so telling you to grow a pair is moot. JUST KIDDING.
Anyways, back on topic, people probably say don't be cougar in the middle of a big fight BECAUSE THEY LACK A PAIR, that and nidalee is squishy and easily focused.

To solve this:
1) don't go into the thick of it(what they're really saying is don't initiate), go for squishies on the edge like ashe/trist/etc. Carries that hang back to do damage. Nid's burst can be obscene sometimes.
2) To add onto this burst, tri-force is your friend. 150% bonus to take down, plus all the stats that help nid out. I'm partial to atk dmg nid(if you like AP nid, don't listen to me =D)
3) Nid's a great assasin. Few heros can get away from her because of pouncing, just as few heros can catch her. Pardon the wham-bam-thank-you-...sir?.
4) Never forget that your about the most versatile champion out there. When your team is grouping up to push, drop traps along an escape route. You'll get kills if not discourage chasers if you guys are pushed back; and once again, since your an assasin keep in mind you can punish those who over-chase and drop them quick with a takedown.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Gl and i hope you enjoy nidalee.

Cougar form works great for team fights. Pop a heal on yourself, change to cougar, W in, E to hit multiple people, and if you see someone about to go down hit them with Q. Just make sure you don't start in the middle, or you're going to take damage, and that isn't good unless you have a lot of HP plus items.

Nidalee's strength is in 1v1s and mopping up after fights. When the fights broken up and there's only 2 enemies left, both running away, try chucking a Q after them or go cougar form and hunt them down. It's very easy to change a 2-death gank into a 3-death gank with Nidalee.

Honestly the best thing I can recommend is just playing the game. Nidalee is a very aggressive champion, but if you don't know when to be aggressive and when to wait all you're going to do is get ganked. So just play a ton of games and eventually you'll get the feel down.

Well, I'm assuming your a girl, so telling you to grow a pair is moot. JUST KIDDING.
Anyways, back on topic, people probably say don't be cougar in the middle of a big fight BECAUSE THEY LACK A PAIR, that and nidalee is squishy and easily focused.

To solve this:
1) don't go into the thick of it(what they're really saying is don't initiate), go for squishies on the edge like ashe/trist/etc. Carries that hang back to do damage. Nid's burst can be obscene sometimes.
2) To add onto this burst, tri-force is your friend. 150% bonus to take down, plus all the stats that help nid out. I'm partial to atk dmg nid(if you like AP nid, don't listen to me =D)
3) Nid's a great assasin. Few heros can get away from her because of pouncing, just as few heros can catch her. Pardon the wham-bam-thank-you-...sir?.
4) Never forget that your about the most versatile champion out there. When your team is grouping up to push, drop traps along an escape route. You'll get kills if not discourage chasers if you guys are pushed back; and once again, since your an assasin keep in mind you can punish those who over-chase and drop them quick with a takedown.

That's all I can think of off the top of my head. Gl and i hope you enjoy nidalee.

I only build her atk dmg, so your tips are worth while. I think part of it is because I'm always focused when I'm in the middle of things. I guess I'll start going for the squishies when everyone else is fighting eachother in the middle of things. I usually place traps in mid brushes and down the river but I'll start placing more for an escape route.

I feel like a pansy when there's a fight going on, but I have to pounce away because I'm getting focused. I feel like I have to stay in with low health and atk someone or else I'll get *****ed at... which could be part of the problem. I die a couple of times trying to save someone or fighting with low health because I don't want someone to QQ about me running.

Nidalee is hardcore. I like AD Nidalee myself as well. She's slow to start usually, but once you get to about 8-10 you should be eating everyone's face. Buy sapphire crystal and 2 health pots to start. Hope to get a kill by 6, buy sheen as soon as you can. Then buy vampiric scepter and build up your trinity force as you are able. Depending team I get berzerker greaves or mercury treads. Get lizard buff and eat faces. Nidalee is awesome at getting lizard buff. Throw a trap (w) throw heal/atk speed buff on your self, go cougar and eat its face. With the life steal you should only lose like 10% life tops. I always go cougar in team fights. I think people that say not to probably play AP nidalee. Build vampiric scepter into bloodthirster. Usually game is over by this point for me, but if it goes longer can get whatever is appropriate for the team you're facing, Stark's (if no one else has), warmog's or banshee's veil are good choices. Did this build last night. It was ridiculous. I faced off against a mundo full life when I had 20% life and beat him somehow. Ended up going 20/7 and being main carry on team.

Try and approach team fights from flank or back if possible and catch someone by surprise on the edge or someone low on life. Pounce, swipe, Q. Usually enough to take off 70-80% of their life. Then you can either try and get away if too many of them, or finish him off. With trinity force, you should do a lot of damage. I usually take ignite and flash for her.

im not experienced with nidalee but when you chase someone go in tiger form and when you think you can hit him ranged change back to human form and use the skill to shoot a javelin to him/her mostly you get the kill if you dont miss but even if you miss you could swap back to tiger and chase your prey again

I only build her atk dmg, so your tips are worth while. I think part of it is because I'm always focused when I'm in the middle of things. I guess I'll start going for the squishies when everyone else is fighting eachother in the middle of things. I usually place traps in mid brushes and down the river but I'll start placing more for an escape route.

I feel like a pansy when there's a fight going on, but I have to pounce away because I'm getting focused. I feel like I have to stay in with low health and atk someone or else I'll get *****ed at... which could be part of the problem. I die a couple of times trying to save someone or fighting with low health because I don't want someone to QQ about me running.

Remember though, your a multi-faceted char. Ok, so you went in got focused, but managed to kittie pounce your way out. What now? Well, if the team battle is still raging, you can come back but as a spear chucker + javelin. Just keep healing yourself. It's up to you to decide when to truly abandon a fight, or when to pull back and hunt down people who are low.

If your team lost the group battle, but you escaped. Your still a threat on the field because your still an aassasin char. You can go push a lane with little to no mana, because AD kittie wrecks minions like a pro. Note: Only push another lane if you see that they're all capatalizing on the victory and are intent on driving it home. If say 3 of them stayed to push the advantage, it's probably because 2 of them either had to heal up or they're coming to hunt you down.

Then you gotta think, can I tangle with those 2 and get away? If the answer is no or even if your unsure. Just pill back.

As another poster said though, it takes time and experience to have a feel for your hero.

Being aggressive with Nidalee is less about sprinting in on the frontlines with Yi and Tryndamere and more about sneaking around and catching the enemy off guard, striking them where they won't expect it like the fierce sexy predator she is. Most of my kills as Nidalee come from sneaking around the forests, finding a good angle and chucking a spear at the enemy's carry, instantly taking off maybe 50% of his health before I pounce in for the kill (I play AP btw, so my burst damage is wtfludicrous). As you are an absurdly versatile character, your mode of play will change based on the situation:

1v1

If you can afford it, ALWAYS be first to strike. Landing a meaty spear chuck instantly puts the fight in your favor. If you're DPS Nida, heal up before throwing that spear and charging in. Don't stay in Cougar form forever, even though that's where most of your DPS is. Whenever you can afford to, change back to Sexy form and heal up, lay a trap, and chuck a spear if you can afford the mana (if you can't or don't want to, save the spear for when they try to flee. It is so fun to spear chuck someone who thinks they've Blinked away to safety). If you're AP Nidalee, chuck spear, go Cougar, hit Takedown->Pounce->Swipe, and then Pounce away when it cools down so you can shift back to Sexy form and heal up/lay trap/throw a spear (since you're AP, you shouldn't be too conservative with spears; those things HURT). Without items or Exhaust, Nidalee has no reliable CC, so you want to try and strike from behind to force them to run towards you to get back to their territory.

If you are losing, Pounce away, shift to Sexy mode, heal up and run for the nearest brush; this not only gives you the speed boost from her passive, but you can even lay a trap, wait for the enemy to spring it, then Spear -> Cougar -> PounceSwipeTakedown if the enemy is moderately damaged enough to kill him. You will make people rage SO HARD when you're down to 10%, then dive for the grass and roflpounce them when they try to go in for the kill.

CAREFUL for Champs with hard CCs like Ryze, Veigar, Morgana, etc. The moment you lose momentum is the moment you lose. If you think they'll pop their CC on you, get back to Sexy form as soon as possible and use your heal (if you're already damaged, or if you managed to survive the ordeal). Snares and Popups like Ryze's Rune Cage, Morgana's Dark Binding, or Blitzcrank's Power Fist still allow you to act, so you wanna be in Sexy form while you fend them off; heal up to cushion some of the damage, or chuck a spear to make them think twice about staying in your face. If you have Cleanse, then lol and gg. If you have a Banshee's Veil (and you'll probably want to against a hard CC character), proceed as normal until you think they'll CC you again (or unless they remove your Veil with another move).

2v2/3v3

It is still worthwhile to prowl around and strike from the grass in a 2's or 3's fight. If your ambush is successful, you will probably take out one of their two/three. If it's a 2v2, the enemy will very likely try to flee; use your anti-fleeing methods if they are available to you or if you are perfectly able to chase them without risk. If they are fleeing behind a tower, go to Sexy mode and chuck a spear.

If it's a 3v3 and you just roflstomp'd their squishy, you will gain INSTANT AGGRO. Do whatever you have available to you to get back to your allies ASAP; Blink, Ghost, Pounce, Cleanse, whatever needs to be done. Stay behind your allies and go back to Sexy mode, poking at the enemy with auto-attack spears, healing yourself from any damage you might have taken trying to get away, healing/buffing allies or laying traps for pressure. The moment you think you are close enough to an enemy squishy at ~40% health, you roflpounce them. If they survive, retreat and repeat.

4v4/5v5

Trying to sneak around the jungle and pounce them from behind becomes a lot more risky, because even if you manage to take out one of them, there's gonna be 4 of them focusing you and you'll probably die. If you're going to jungle-prowl, only do so to chuck a spear or lay a trap, then get out of there and get back to your allies. You'll probably spend most of the time in Sexy form, laying traps, chucking spears and healing your allies or buffing Yi for lols. The moment one of the enemies strays close enough to your group, roflpounce them. If the entire thing explodes into a massive melee, THAT's when you go Cougar and rip everyone's faces off, since you're not the only one in range to get focused, especially if your team has a carry that people are generally more afraid of (Yi, Twitch, Teemo, TF, etc.).

Pushing Lanes

If no enemies are around and you're pushing a lane, go Cougar to Pounce->Swipe and omnomnom minions for easy money. You should be laying a trap at every patch of grass or jungle path whenever it's available (if the enemy has steathers, it also helps to buy Vision Wards and plug those at each intersection also). If you've got Clairvoyance, throw those into the jungle near your lane any chance you get. Once you reach the tower, go Sexy Mode and heal up to get the buff, then start hacking away at the tower. A DPS Nida will fold that tower in half over her sexy knee, while an AP Nida can do it moderately slower on her equally sexy knee, but she can still kill anyone who tries to stop her (depending on how many come to stop you) before you Cougar->Pounce away.

**Misc. Fun Stuff**

-The enemy has NUNU
In a 3's, 4's, or 5's fight, Nunu will probably march his fat yeti ass into the middle of you and your buddies and use his ult. Keep your spacing from him and don't roflpounce him just yet; that's what he's DEPENDING on. If you're still in Sexy Mode and at spear-throwing range and he pops the ult, go Cougar and Pounce away. If you're in melee range and don't have Blink ready to go, chuck spear/go Cougar and facerip; if A. he hasn't been stacking armor / B. you've been stacking Armor Penetration or Magic Penetration / C. both of the above, you MIGHT kill him before he hurts anyone, and then he smashes his face into his big yeti palm while you poledance over his corpse. If you don't, then you've (hopefully) taken off a chunk of HP that you wouldn't have been able to deal if you were hopelessly trying to flee. Even if you die, it at least helps your allies bring him down after the fact (and if they died too, then... well, GJ Nunu).

-Where the hell did she just POUNCE me from??
If you didn't know, Nidalee's Pounce can actually go through thin walls (like the walls surrounding the Lizard/Golem, or the "ramps" in the central row). You can exploit these to get the jump on an enemy without having to use Blink, or to execute a swift retreat. I've escaped 5-man ganks by hopping through a wall in a timely and dramatic manner, forcing them to go the long way around while I kite them towards the rest of my team. This takes a bit of practice, as Nida only pounces in the direction she's facing, and you have to have figured out on your own which walls can be pounced through.

Nidalee is overall an excellent character and my definite favorite. Once you get good with her, I guarantee you will feel powerful. Powerful and sexy.

Your javalin will go through walls and terrain so you can hit people at their towers through the jungle for massive damage if you are AP. They will have zero chance of dodging.

After 6 you can take anything in the jungle with ease. You should always be killing creeps whether in a lane or jungle if you aren't ganking. This will create a noticeable difference in levels very quickly.

Your #1 asset is that you are incredibly mobile. When you need to move from lane to lane you should be pouncing non stop for the movement speed. You should also be hitting brush every chance you get. I've often had comments after games that "you were in every lane at once".

Nidalee doesn't kill people by tanking them straight up, you need to be in constant harass mode. Jav, pounce, takedown, swipe, heal, trap, pounce, takedown. You should almost never be in one form for more than a single QEW. You should be spamming abilities nearly non stop.

Remember, you can heal and most likely they can't. Retreating quickly to heal and then coming around behind them or turning and burning can be done better on nidalee than any other champ.